


Hold Me Down

by xzael



Category: Borderlands
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Student/Teacher, Based on a Tumblr Post, F/F, F/M, M/M, Past Abuse, Past Relationship(s), Power Imbalance, Teacher-Student Relationship, Unhealthy Relationships, not a songfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-08
Updated: 2017-03-18
Packaged: 2018-08-20 06:44:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8239741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xzael/pseuds/xzael
Summary: Rhys is a freshman at the Hyperion Business School, and is very determined to make sure his first day goes smoothly.Jack is a professor at the Hyperion Business School and is very determined to make sure his first class goes smoothly.Of course, neither of them get want they want.-Based off of.... many tumblr posts. Each chapter will probably be slightly based off of a post. The whole story is based off of the prompt "you’re my professor and this is your first year teaching and we’re practically the same age can I stay after class so that you can help me with this thing I don’t understand"





	1. my demons are begging me to open up my mouth

**Author's Note:**

> hey guys!!! ther are like No borderlands fics and even less tftbl fics  
> this is my first rhack (but not gayperion cough cough) fic i never would ve imagined myself writing ANYTHING rhack EVER but i was listening to halsey (it s not a songfic tho i m just usin the lyrics well ok it s very loosely a songfic) nd reading prompts and Here We Are  
> feedback like kudos but esp comments is super appreciated! i hope u enjoy

Rhys was about to enter the classroom for his first class of his college career at the Hyperion Business School and was incredibly determined to make a first good impression on the professor. His professor, Jack Beau, had emailed his syllabus out for his course Introduction to Human Communication a week before classes started. Rhys had printed it out, although it wasn’t required, and practically committed it to memory.

He took a deep breath before opening the door in front of him and stepped in.

It looked like a regular lecture hall.

What else was he expecting it to be?

He glanced down at his watch.

It was ten minutes until class was going to start and Professor Beau wasn’t at his desk.

However, the projector was on and pointed at the whiteboard.

It read,

> _“Please pick up one from each stack of papers on my desk._
> 
> _P.S. I’m not going to be late._
> 
> _P.P.S. You can leave if I’m not in the classroom 15 minutes after class starts._
> 
> _Jack”_

Rhys found it interesting that he only signed it with his first name.

He disregarded it for the time being and took the required papers before taking a seat in one of the front rows.

Not _the_ front row, though.

Only teacher’s pets do that, and Rhys was _not_ going to be a teacher’s pet.

There were only a handful of other people in the room, mostly in the middle and back. No one was sitting in the front row.

Rhys took note of the guy wearing a Hyperion hat who had his feet up on the seat in the row below him.

He looked very out of place.

His hat was tilted down to cover his eyes.

 _He’s probably sleeping_. Rhys thought.

He took out the course syllabus to read until class started.

Vaughn, his roommate and so far, _only_ friend, was majoring in Accounting while Rhys was majoring in Management, and chose to take Small Group Communication instead. He wasn’t really looking forward to meeting new people.

Rhys was very, _very_ awkward. He was about 90% sure the only reasons he and Vaughn became friends were because a) they’re roommates and b) they were both _incredibly_ awkward.

He was also sure that no one else was going to be awkward in a class called _Introduction to Human Communication_ . Everyone else probably already knew how to interact with people _without_ regretting every word that came out of their mouth.

Rhys sighed.

He didn’t have any assignments to do, so he sat there looking over his cybernetic arm like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

Slowly, people entered, grabbed the papers, and sat down.

When it was 9 am, someone sitting behind Rhys yelled, “Where’s the professor at?”

Rhys, strangely feeling outgoing, yelled back, “Who wants to set the alarm for 15 minutes till we can go?” His remark created scattered laughter around the room.

“I’ll do it.” The guy in the Hyperion hat responded.

 _Huh._ _Not asleep._

Rhys turned around to face towards the front again.

A few minutes pass.

Someone climbed over the seat behind him and sat down.

It was the guy in the hat again.

“Uh, hi?” Rhys managed to awkwardly utter out.

“Hey!” Hat guy replied enthusiastically. He was surprisingly attractive. Rhys then noticed he was also wearing a Hyperion shirt. “I’m Jack.”

 _Like our professor?_ Rhys almost joked.

“I’m Rhys.” Without even thinking about it, he shook Jack’s hand with his right, which was his cybernetic side. Surprisingly, Jack didn’t flinch, but Rhys drew his hand back almost immediately to try and draw attention away from it.

“You build that yourself?” Jack asked, appearing genuinely interested.

“Uh-” Rhys was taken aback. He was usually met with judgemental glares and nasty comments directed at his arm, not fascination. “Yeah. It’s a bit buggy at times, but it works.”

“That’s really cool!” Jack remarked. “What about the eye?” Rhys subconsciously brought his hand to his cheek under his left eye.

“Oh, god no, I’m too clumsy for that. I’m surprised you even noticed,” Rhys admitted. “I paid a _lot_ of money to get it as close to my actual eye color as possible. It’s not an ECHO eye or anything special, it just lets me see regularly.”

“Have you ever considered applying for a Hyperion prosthetics grant?” Jack asked.

“Oh, well,” _I’d never get accepted. I’m nowhere near smart enough._ “Maybe. I’m not sure yet.”

“You should _totally_ do it. Hyperion prosthetics are _ah-mazing!_ ” Jack gushed. “Not that the one you made isn’t, because it _seriously_ is, but- Ah, you know what I mean. They have built in holographic interfaces!”

“You really like Hyperion's stuff, huh, Jack?” Rhys joked, eyebrow raised.

“You think?” He joked back, gesturing to his whole outfit. “Even this watch is Hyperion.” He pointed at a silver and classic Hyperion yellow watch on his left arm. It read _1:27._ Rhys deduced that it was counting down from 15 minutes.

Jack leaned back in his seat.

“What do you want to be, Rhys?”

“What?”

“Y’know, career-wise.”

“Oh, well…”

“Don’t you see yourself doing great things?” Jack asked.

“Once I finish business school!” Rhys exclaimed. He was sure people were looking at him now. “ For now, I’m taking it one day at a time, step by step. What about you, Jack?

“One day, I’m going to be the president of Hyperion.” Jack stated.

“That’s… incredibly ambitious.” Rhys commented, choosing his words carefully as to not offend Jack.

“I’m an ambitious guy, Rhysie.” Jack answered. “You gotta dream big.”

“Yo, Hyperion fanboy, can we all leave yet?” A voice called from the back of the room, clearly addressing Jack, who rolled his eyes.

The alarm on his watch went off. Most of the class started getting up. “Not so fast.” Jack jumped down to the front of the room, over to the desk, and tossed his hat on it. He pressed a key on the keyboard of the laptop, changing the slide being projected. It was a screenshot of the Introduction to Human Communications teachers list on the Hyperion website and Jack was one of them. “Surprise! I’m your professor, Jack Beau. Yes, it’s French, yes, it _is_ fitting, no, you do not have to call me Professor Handsome. You can just call me Jack.”

_What the actual fuck?_

“I’m sure you must all be thinking, _What the hell, Jack?_ To which I have no response to.” Jack deadpanned. “Next slide.” He pressed a button on a remote he seemingly drew out of thin air. The slide said “Who Am I?” in large, bolded text, and nothing else.

“I’m Jack Beau, professor of Introduction to Human Communication here at the Hyperion Business School, and it’s my firstyear teaching here.” Jack was walking around the front of the room as he tal- _lectured_? “That means I’m just as new here as you guys. Even around the same age. I’m 22.” He changed the slide. “Why are you and I here?”

“Now this could get very existential, but that's not what this class is for. I mean, why are you taking this class, and why am I teaching it? First off, this class is a graduation requirement for all of you undergraduates aiming for a business degree. Secondly, this was the class I was assigned to teach. First-year professors have no choice. Thirdly, don’t be alarmed, this is my first year teaching at a college, but not at a school. I’ve taught high school business classes. Any questions so far?” Jack looked around the room.

No one raised their hand, but everyone had questions of their own.

“Alright. Onto the course guidelines.” Jack changed the slide again. “This was all covered in my syllabus, which I emailed to everyone. It wasn't required reading, but if you _did_ read it, none of what I’m about to cover should be new to you.” He made eye contact with Rhys for a brief moment before looking away.

Rhys then realized that the syllabus had been on his lap the entire time. He quietly put it away in his bag, in between the textbooks required for this class.

He took the next ten minutes as an opportunity to zone out for a while.

Because seriously, _what the hell?_


	2. i need them mechanically make the words come out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys finally escapes from his Introduction to Human Communications class, but not without delay. He and his roommate and bro Vaughn head to class and unexpectedly meet one of Vaughn's friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok i changed vaughn s major from marketing to accounting bc Wtf it was supposed to be accounting from the start  
> i also added some tags ;)  
> thank you for continuing to read my fic! i hope you enjoy this chapter  
> please leave comments and kudos below!

Rhys was brought back to reality when Jack _very_ loudly clapped his hands together.

“Alright class, you can leave now. I’ll see all of you on Wednesday, same time!” Jack announced.

“9 or 9:15?” A voice called from the back of the room. Rhys laughed at the joke quietly, not realizing Jack’s eyes were on him. A few people had already left the room, but it was a large class.

“Haha, very funny,” Jack responded sarcastically. “C’mon everyone, go. I have to set up for my next class.” He grabbed the hat from his desk and put it on. Rhys started to get up before Jack interrupted him.

“Wait, everyone _but_ Rhys can go.” Jack added.

Rhys sighed and sat back down, trying his best to block out the “teacher’s pet” comments. He waited for a few minutes for Jack to talk to him again. He finally did once the room was empty.

“Rhys, come over here.” Jack instructed from his desk. Rhys slung his bag on his shoulder and walked over.

“I’m sorry about the 15 minute comment thing.” Rhys apologized before Jack could even say anything. “And for yelling at you earlier.” Jack chuckled.

_What?_

“It’s ok, kiddo. All I was gonna say was that I think you’re smarter than you think you are, and you don’t need to dumb yourself down for anyone.” Jack told him, the sincerity in his voice shocking Rhys. “You should apply for a prosthetics grant. I know some of the members on the board, I can put in a good word for you. I’ll have the application papers on Wednesday, if you’re interested.” Rhys didn’t know what to say.

“I-uh, thank you, Mr. B- Jack. Thank you.” He finally managed to stutter out. “Is there anything else?”

“Don’t listen to your peers calling you a teacher’s pet. So what if you are?” Jack was smirking slightly in a way that made Rhys nervous, but not in a bad way. _Now_ Rhys was speechless.

“See you Wednesday, Jack!” He exclaimed before running out the door.

* * *

“It couldn’t have been _that_ bad!”

“No, Vaughn, it was _terrible_!”

“Elaborate.” Vaughn demanded before taking a bite of his sandwich.

“He was talking to me for like, 10 minutes before class! Then 5 after! Everyone must think I’m a teacher’s pet!” Rhys exclaimed.

“Or a really bad student.” Vaughn murmured. Rhys shot him a look. “What? Which one would you rather be?”

“A teacher’s pet or a bad student?”

“Yeah, dude.” Rhys thought for a moment.

“Dead.” He finally answered. 

“Rhys! Seriously, it could _not_ have been that bad.” Vaughn argued.

“Oh, but it gets worse! I think he’s flirting with me.” Rhys angrily took a couple bites out of his sandwich before angrily chewing. Vaughn, who was about to take a bite. pulled his sandwich away from his mouth.

“Bro, that’s creepy.” He remarked. “And illegal. How old is this perv anyways?”

“22.” Rhys answered.

“Bro.”

“What?”

“You’re almost 19, right?”  
“Yeah, why?”

“No reason.” Vaughn finished his sandwich. Rhys realized that he had forgotten to eat while they were talking and was only half done. “You ready to head back to our dorm?”

“Yeah, Vaughn, just give me a second.” Rhys quickly wrapped up his sandwich and shoved it into his book bag. “Ok, let’s go.”

“When’s your next class?” Vaughn asked Rhys as they walked out of the cafeteria side by side, shoulders almost brushing.

“Uh, one of our classes together. Business Forum at 2.” Rhys replied.

* * *

“Hey, Rhys?” Vaughn called from his bed.

“Yeah, Vaughn?” Rhys replied lazily, also on his bed. He was trying to get some rest before heading into Business Forum. It was a 2 hour class.

“Is there a Yvette in your Communications class?”

“Maybe. Why?”

“She’s in my Mathematics for Business Analysis class, and she seems cool.”

“Wait,” Rhys quickly sat up. “Don’t we have that class together?”

“Yeah. I met her at the library when I was checking out the textbook we need, which you already have.”

“Oh, well, I’ll look for her on Wednesday. What does she look like?”

“She has really unique hair.” Vaughn explained. “Instead of like, a sidecut, she has cornrows, and the rest of her hair is in dreads.”

“Cool.” Rhys commented, then lied back down to sleep. He could hear Vaughn typing and clicking away on his laptop.

“I’ll set an alarm. What time?”

“1:30.” Rhys mumbled.

“K.” Vaughn momentarily stopped typing, probably to set the alarm on his phone.

“What’re you writing?”

“Oh, nothing. I’m looking for a part-time job.” Vaughn responded casually. “You should get one, too. We need the money. We can’t live on instant noodles forever.”

“Mmm.” Rhys groaned, meaning “ _Later, Vaughn."_

“Suit yourself.”

* * *

“Rhys, it’s time to get up.” Vaughn urged as he attempted to shake Rhys’ half conscious body awake.

“But what if I don’t want to?” Rhys countered.

“Then you get marked absent by the professor, making a bad first impression.” Vaughn cautioned. Rhys opened his eyes and threw his blanket off of him.

“Ok, ok, I’m up.” He sat up and was greeted by Vaughn, who was all ready to go,  holding his sandwich. “How much time do I have?”

“About half an hour, but we need to leave in at the most, twenty. When are you going to eat this?” Vaughn inquired. Rhys swung his legs over the side of his bed and stood up.

“On the way to class.” Rhys walked into the bathroom and checked his appearance in the mirror. He smoothed his hair down with some water before leaving the bathroom and grabbing his bag. “Do I look ok?”

“Yeah, you look fine, bro.” Vaughn asserted as Rhys headed to the door. His eyes lingered on Rhys for a second too long, but neither realized.

* * *

The walk to class was short and filled with Rhys and Vaughn arguing about economic stability of Tantalus due to all the conflict between Dahl and Atlas, with occasional pauses to give Rhys time to eat. They arrived about 15 minutes early and the lecture hall was surprisingly full, yet also bare. There was nothing being projected in the front of the room and no papers on the desk. Most importantly, no professor.

“Vaughn!’ A voice called from the middle rows. “Up here!” Both Vaughn and Rhys looked for the source of the voice.

“Hey, Yvette!” Vaughn called back and waved. He turned to Rhys. “Let’s go sit by her.” The duo walked up the stairs to Yvette’s row.

“I’m _so_ glad you remember me from the library, or else that would’ve been really awkward.” Yvette admitted.  
“Awkward _is_ Vaughn’s specialty.” Rhys joked. Vaughn elbowed him in the side. Yvette raised an eyebrow.

“This is Rhys.” Vaughn gestured towards the taller man beside him. “He’s my roommate.”

“Oh!” Yvette exclaimed. “I remember you from Communications this morning. You’re the professor’s pet.” Rhys was internally cringing. Vaughn could tell he was.

“So, have you seen the professor?” Vaughn interjected to change the subject. Rhys took a mental note to thank him for that later.

“Miss, uh, what’s her name again?” Yvette asked to no one in particular.

“Kadam.” Rhys quipped.

“Yeah, no, I haven’t seen her. I don’t think anyone else has, either.” She answered. “You guys wanna sit down?” Vaughn looked to Rhys, who nodded. The three of them walked to some empty seats and sat down. Yvette sat on the left, Vaughn in the middle, and Rhys on his right. Their row was empty besides them.

“So what’s your major, Rhys?” Yvette asked. “Mine is Marketing, and I know Vaughn’s is Accounting.”

“Believe it or not, it’s Management.” Rhys stated. He wasn’t sure what compelled him to believe that he could major in something so social with all his social _awkwardness._

“What do you mean? You seem like a natural to me.” Yvette commented.  Vaughn snorted.

“Ok, what am I missing here?”

“Rhys is the _king_ of awkward.” Vaughn babbled. “If _my_ specialty is awkwardness, then Rhys must have a phD in it.”

“Hilarious.” Rhys shot back sarcastically. Yvette was laughing at their interactions.  
“No, but seriously, what am I missing here? I mean, between the two of you.” Her tone of voice was more serious and less joking. Rhys and Vaughn looked at each other, both of them _very_ visibly confused.

“Nothing?” Rhys claimed, his statement sounding more like a question.

“There _has_ to be something!” Yvette insisted. “Are you two childhood friends?”

“No, we just met a week ago.” Vaughn responded, furrowing his brows.

“Cause you two seem awfully close.”

“We’re just _bros_ , Yvette.” Rhys remarked. “End of story.”

“No way. There is no way that’s it!” Yvette pushed.

“Yvette, just drop it.” Vaughn snapped. “Seriously.”

“Alright, sorry.” Yvette apologized. Rhys sent Vaughn a “ _You okay?”_ look, but he wasn’t paying attention. He’d ask later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again, thank you for reading!  
> comments and kudos are welcome and appreciated  
> also, i want to hear theories. i am curious and want ideas


	3. they fight me, vigorous and angry watch them pounce

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys and company wait for their professor, who never shows up. To Rhys' dismay, an all too familiar faced does instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I M SORRY FOR THE LACK OF UPDATES i went back to school and seasonal depression + writer s block is hitting me hard  
> **PLEASE NOTE** i changed the warning from none to i chose not to say!! if there s anything major in a chapter i will put a warning in these notes

“So, uh, what’s the professor’s name again?” Yvette asked Rhys.

“Miss Kadam. Hey, shouldn’t she be here by now?” Rhys questioned.  Vaughn checked his watch.

“Class technically starts in 3 minutes, but yeah, she should be here by now.” He responded.

“Weird.” Yvette commented absentmindedly. She turned to Rhys again. “Hey, what did Jack talk to you about?”

“When?” Rhys cautioned. Yvette looked surprised.

“He talked to you more than once?” She interrogated. “I was talking about when he talked to you after class.” Rhys’ eyes flicked to Vaughn’s, then back to Yvette to subtly signal his distress.

“Uh…” _Jack laughed when I apologized._ Rhys thought to himself. _He told me that I’m smart but he just met me._ “Basically just told me to ignore all the ‘teacher’s pet’ comments.” He finally answered.

_Oh, and he was flirting with me._

“Okay, teacher’s pet.” Yvette teased. Rhys and Vaughn collectively groaned.

“Yvette, _c’mon._ Do you think rubbing it in is gonna make Rhys feel any better?” Vaughn suddenly interjected, shocking Rhys.

“Whoa, Vaughn. Chill.” Yvette put her hands up in mock surrender. “It was just a joke.” Rhys didn’t miss the small eye roll she did.

_Wow, what a bitch._

* * *

All three of them jumped a little when the door slammed open.

“Jesus Christ, not again!” Rhys muttered under his breath, allowing only Vaughn to hear his distress. It was Jack, panting and sweating slightly.

“ _This_ is Jack!?” Vaughn gasped.

“Yep.” Yvette admitted.

“Hello, Miss Nisha Kadam’s Business Forum class! I’m Jack Beau, just Jack, a friend of hers and fellow teacher. Miss Kadam, unfortunately, is sick. I am not qualified to teach her class and actually have my own to right now.” Jack was wearing his Hyperion hat from his earlier student getup. “I’m just here to let you guys know you can go back to your dorms for now! You’ll all get an email or something when Nish- _Miss Kadam_ -is back. Anyways, I’ll see my Introduction to Human Communication students on Wednesday at 9.”

Rhys tried to pretend like Jack hadn’t just winked at him, despite the fact that classroom had to have had over 50 students. He left as quickly as he entered, the classroom buzzing with conversation.

“Rhys, _bro,_ did Jack just-” Vaughn was interrupted by Rhys nodding.

“Ooh, get it, Rhys.” Yvette suggested. Rhys reached over Vaughn to smack Yvette’s left arm with his right cybernetic, therefore stronger, hand.

“Ow!” Yvette winced and rubbed her arm.

“Hey, talk shit, get hit.” Rhys laughed. He and Vaughn high fived, earning another famous Yvette eye roll.

“You wanna head back to our dorm, bro?” Vaughn proposed, his messenger bag already slung across his body.

“Yeah, let’s go.” Rhys replied, following suit with his bag. “See you Wednesday, Yvette.” He and Vaughn waved goodbye and started walking away.

“Wait, have you guys had lunch yet?” Yvette babbled.

“Uh, yeah. Why?” Vaughn could tell what Yvette wanted.

“Can I please, _pleeease_ borrow some money? My parents haven’t forwarded the money for my lunch account yet. Just this one time?” She begged. Vaughn handed her 2 dollars and Rhys handed her 3.

“I owe you guys!” She called after the two, who were already halfway down the stairs.

* * *

“When and what’s our next class?” Rhys asked Vaughn. They were in their dorm, Vaughn sitting at his desk on his laptop and Rhys sitting on Vaughn’s bed to see what he was doing. He quickly glanced at the clock, which read 4:07.

“That psych class off-campus at 6. It’s the one named after that weird Hyperion scientist.” He answered.

“Nakayama School of Sciences?” Rhys suggested.

“Yeah, that one. How do we get there?” Rhys took his ECHOphone out and opened up the ECHOnet.

“I’ll check. It’s on Selene, so we don’t have to worry about going to another planet for just one class.” Rhys scrolled down the webpage to look for the transportation tab, but an ad caught his eye.

> Need a lift?
> 
> Janey Springs Transportation
> 
> Safe, fast transportation between Hyperion’s many schools
> 
> Call JNY-SPR-INGS for more info

“You find anything?” Rhys handed Vaughn his phone.

“Do you think it’s reliable?”

“Only one way to find out.”

* * *

“G’day, Janey Springs of Janey Springs Transportation at your service.” Janey offered her hand for a handshake. “Where am I taking you two today?” The first notable thing about her was her strong accent.

“I’m Rhys. We’re going to Nakayama’s School.” He shook her hand with his left, his right behind his back.

“Nice to meet you, Rhys. Who’s this bloke with you?” She was looking at Vaughn.

“Oh, I’m Vaughn.” He sheepishly shook Janey’s hand.

“You two mates?” She asked.

“Yeah, dorm mates. So, how are we getting there?” Rhys had talked to Janey over the phone and she told them to meet her at her garage, which they were currently outside of. There wasn’t a car in sight.

“Oh, silly me! I left my buggy in the garage. She was a bit rooted, so I did some quick repairs. Nothing serious, it was a piece of piss quite honestly. One second.” Janey pushed a button on a remote she retrieved from her pocket and the garage door began to open, rattling on the tracks. What appeared to be a moon buggy was slowly revealed.

“Isn’t she a beaut?” Janey sighed happily. Rhys and Vaughn looked at each other warily.

“How safe is this, exactly?” Rhys questioned, careful to not strike a chord with the eccentric mechanic.

“Safe as! I designed and built her myself. Now c’mon, blokes, you’re gonna be late for your class!” She jumped into the driver’s seat and seamlessly turned the buggy on.

Rhys sat down on the surprisingly comfortable right passenger seat with his bag on his lap and his hands folded on top. He looked at Vaughn and jerked his head towards the seat next to him to tell him to get on. Vaughn, quite reluctantly, sat down.

“How do you drive this thing?” Rhys was genuinely interested. Despite Selene being a moon, buggies weren’t all that popular.

“Just like a regular car!” Janey answered, her eyes still forward. They were moving now. “You wanna give it a burl?” She grinned.

“Oh, hard pass.” Rhys quickly replied.

“How far away is it, Janey?” Vaughn chimed in.

“Just a couple of clicks. So, which schools do you go to?”

“We live and have most of our classes at the Hyperion Business School. We have a psychology class off-campus at Nakayama’s, though.” Rhys said. Janey let out a laugh.

“Oh, Nakayama’s got his kangaroos loose in the top paddock! I hope he’s not your professor.” She laughed again when she saw their confusion from their reflections in the rear view window. “I mean he’s not the brightest out there.”

“But he’s a Hyperion doctor, isn’t he?” Vaughn added.

“Vaughn, he’s got a doctorate in _botany_.” Janey said in a low whisper, smiling.

“No way.” Rhys dared. “How do you know?”

Janey pointed to the picture of her and a purple-haired tucked in the visor.

“Athena told me. She takes on all sorts of odd jobs to make a quid. Learns heaps of good oil, too.” She had a small smile on her face.

“You two seem like good friends.” Vaughn commented. Janey blushed ever so slightly and nodded, her eyes fixed on the dirt path that substituted the non-existent road.

“More than friends?” Rhys continued.

“I wish. I’m just another Sheila to her.”

“Aw, chin up, Janey. I’m sure she feels the same.” Vaughn hadn’t even realized, but he was looking right at Rhys, who was looking out the side of the buggy at the flat, empty expanses of Selene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please leave comments and kudos so i know people are reading and enjoying this! i want to continue writing but i want to make sure there s an audience to write for, ya feel? also sorry for probably butchering aussie slang


	4. ignite me,

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys and Vaughn get to the Nakayama School of Sciences. Because they're Rhys and Vaughn, it doesn't go smoothly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT S A (LATE) CHRISTMAS MIRACLE! i lowkey forgot abt this omg sorry  
> WARNING this chapter features disablist speech, implied violence, homophobia, and a character having an anxiety attack ;w;

The rest of the trip was filled with a comfortable silence. Rhys was filled with anxiety at the thought of meeting another new teacher, Vaughn was falling asleep, and Janey was thinking about where she was going to get dinner.

* * *

 

“Ah, here we are!” Janey brought the buggy to a stop and turned to her two passengers.

“Thanks, Janey!” Rhys shot her a small smile. He took his wallet out of his back pocket. “How much do we owe you?” Vaughn hurriedly took his wallet out, too.

“Oh, put those away! I’m assuming you two will be needing a ride every Monday?” Janey asked.

“Every other Monday, to here then back. Why?” Rhys asked back. Both him and Vaughn had confused looks on their faces.

“Don’t worry about paying me for now! You two just started _university!_ Keep your money for yourselves for now, ok?” Janey answered. “Now go to your class! Go on!” Rhys and Vaughn did as she told.

* * *

 

“Janey’s nice.” Vaughn commented casually as he and Rhys walked through the Nakayama School of Sciences to their classroom.

“She is.” Rhys responded. Vaughn looked at him and raised his eyebrows. Rhys immediately put his hands up in protest. “No, not like  that, bro! She's got that Athena girl. Athena looked like she could kick my ass. _Not_ that there’d be any reason for her to want to, of course.” Vaughn began to laugh and Rhys eventually joined him.

They fell into another comfortable silence. Both had small smiles on their faces. 

* * *

 

The duo would occasionally pass by students petitioning for various causes and were sometimes approached by them.

Most were good causes, but they didn’t have much time to stop, considering the fact that they had no idea where there class was and only had 10 minutes to find it.

They walked past a table with a banner reading “SSDS: Students Supporting Disabled Students” and two people sitting behind it. One seemed to have cybernetic arm prosthetics and the other cybernetic leg prosthetics. Rhys made eye contact with both of them and gave the two a thumbs up. They smiled back.

Vaughn saw their silent exchange and smiled.

“Hey, Vaughn?”

“Mm?”

“Next next week can we get here a bit earlier so we can sign some petitions?”

“Yeah, totally.”

There were a handful of hateful “causes,” too. It hadn’t even been a few minutes since they walked by the SSDS table when Rhys and Vaughn came into contact with some less than peaceful protestors. A small group of people, mostly men, were chanting hate speech and carrying signs with statements such as “NO CRIPPLES ALLOWED” and “HYPERION HATES HALF HUMANS” which had a crudely done drawing of someone with a prosthetic leg and arm underneath.

Rhys suddenly felt sick to his stomach and stumbled as he walked.

“Rhys?” Vaughn asked, trying to not draw attention. Rhys could barely hear him. “Do you need to sit down?” He nodded shakily and Vaughn guided him to a nearby bench. He fished a water bottle out of his bag and handed it to him.

Rhys’ heart was pounding. Why was this kind of shit happening _here_ , in one of the schools of a company that _makes prosthetics_ , of all places!

 _I thought the people here would be accepting, but no. They don’t want me. They don’t want me._ Rhys’ thoughts were scattered and rapidfire. He looked over at Vaughn, whose expression he couldn't read. _Is he mad? Upset? Annoyed? Probably all. But at who? Me or them? Fuck, probably me. I’m such a hassle. I’m sorry, Vaughn._

“You didn't do anything, Rhys. No need to apologize. Just breathe and try to drink some water.” Vaughn murmured.

_Shit! I said that out loud?_

“Yes, you did.” Vaughn added. “You didn’t say, ‘Did I say that out loud?’ out loud, but I know that face. It's okay, Rhys. You’ll be okay. I'm here. Don't think about anything else but me right now, okay?” Rhys nodded. He drank a little bit of water. He didn’t realize Vaughn had been stroking his hair, but it was comforting.

Rhys took another drink of water before looking to Vaughn again for comfort. His face was covered with so much care and concern for Rhys that he almost started to cry.

“Rhys? What happened?” Vaughn asked, bring his hand down from the top of Rhys’ head to rest on his shoulder. Rhys shook his head and smiled to reassure him, unable to speak. _I’m fine._ He managed to mouth to Vaughn

“You want a hug?” Vaughn smiled at him with his arms open. Rhys smiled back and embraced the shorter man, resting his head on top of Vaughn’s, which was nestled in the crook of his shoulder.

The duo stayed like that for a while.

Then the protesters got closer.

* * *

 

“What the fuck is this?” One of them shouted. He was wearing a mask. Most of them were, but not all. “Didn’t you get our memo? Hyperion hates half humans! Gays count!” He pointed to a sign that had the pride flag with a red X over it. Rhys let go of Vaughn and looked over at the asshole “protester,” but couldn’t seem to say anything.

“Dude, we’re not gay, but these messages you’re spreading are _shit_ .” Vaughn retaliated, much to Rhys’ surprise. “Also, what’s up with all this disablist shit, too? Do you not realize Hyperion _makes prosthetics_?”

 _Yes! Exactly!_ Rhys thought to himself. _Go Vaughn!_

The man scoffed. “That shit’s all a publicity stunt! You ever seen an actual Hyperion employee with prosthetics?”

“I’m a student, not an employee, but I have prosthetics.” Rhys suddenly found himself saying. They just now seemed to have noticed his cybernetic arm. The man Rhys had dubbed “Douche” in his head got visibly angrier and cracked his knuckles.

_Shit._

Rhys had never been in a fight before. He took a quick glance at Vaughn, who was standing next to him. Had _he_ ever been in a fight before? Vaughn looked weaker compared to Rhys because of his short stature. Rhys at least had his cybernetic arm.

“Come at me, bro.” Vaughn provoked Douche.  

“Gentlemen! Where are your manners? Leave the two of them alone, they have done _nothing_!” A voice called from a distance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always please, please leave feedback so i know that people are actually interested in this!  
> kudos and comments are appreciated but i much prefer comments!  
> also i forgot to respond to this comment from ages ago but yes, i will eventually write a chapter in jack s pov + more characters!


	5. licking up the flames they bring about

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys and Vaughn find out who their "rescuer" is, who's more familar than they realize.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YA YEET IT S BEEN 3 MONTHS i m so sorry my life has changed a lot recently (for the better!!) so i ve been distracted but i m on break now so imma try and pump out a few more chapters :P  
> as always, feedback is always appreciated!! this chapter s kind of shitty ik but the next one will be longer than all the rest and feature A Lot More Jack

“Cowards.” The man spat. “Are you two okay?”

“We will be. Thank you, uh…?” Vaughn answered.

“Professor Hammerlock! But you can just call me Hammerlock.” He extended out his right (skeletal-like prosthetic) hand (actually, _arm)_ for a handshake, but quickly withdrew it. “My apologies, I often forget about my prosthetic.” He instead extended his left hand out. Vaughn shook it awkwardly. Rhys silently followed suit.

“I’m Vaughn, and this is Rhys.” Vaughn introduced.

“Rhys, did those imbeciles hurt you?” Hammerlock questioned. Rhys shook his head and let out a small laugh. “Good. Don’t pay _any_ attention to them. Nakayama still won’t let me expel them. He believes that controversy brings students.”

“Doesn’t the fact that this is a Hyperion school bring more than enough students?” Vaughn asked somewhat rhetorically.

“Exactly! I don’t understand why Maxim Turner keeps him around.”

“Who’s Maxim Turner?” Vaughn asked, this time not rhetorically.

“One of Hyperion’s founders.” Rhys answered. Both Vaughn and Hammerlock looked confused to hear him speak. “What? I know stuff.” Awkward silence ensued as none of the three of them knew what to say. Eventually, Hammerlock cleared his throat and spoke up.

“Well, Rhys and Vaughn, I must be on my way to my class now. It was wonderful meeting you two, so be careful now.” He turned on his heel and started to walk away before Vaughn interrupted him.

“Wait!” He exclaimed. “Can you help us find our class before you leave?” Hammerlock turned around and quickly checked his pocket watch.

“Oh, I suppose I have a little time. Let me see your schedule.” Vaughn stood up from the bench and rifled through his bag for his schedule. Rhys got up and pulled out his folded up schedule from his back pocket, which was pretty similar to Vaughn’s.

“Here, take mine.” He handed it to Hammerlock, who unfolded it and scanned over it to find the duo’s next class. “It’s a Psychology class that we have next, I think.” Much to Rhys and Vaughn’s confusion, Hammerlock let out a hearty laugh.

“Gentlemen, simply follow me. You two are in my class!” He didn’t wait for a response and started walking. Rhys and Vaughn shot each other looks.

 _How did you not recognize his name?_ Vaughn glared.

 _I didn’t even look at that part of my schedule, you did, don’t you remember?_ Rhys motioned, annoyed.

 _Oh._ Vaughn looked defeated.

 _So, how did_ you _not recognize his name, Vaughn?_ Rhys had look on his face that screamed “my best friend is a hypocrite but they’re also my only friend.”

“Damn it, Rhys, let’s just go to class!” Vaughn snapped and started to follow Hammerlock. Rhys felt a pang of hurt in his chest, but tried to ignore it and also started walking in Hammerlock’s direction.

 

* * *

 

Hammerlock was an eccentric person and he taught this seemingly mundane class in an eccentric way. He insisted that there were to be little to no paper assignments in his class and most of the assignments would be verbal. The class, both the room and students, was rather small, only around 20 people. Rhys and Vaughn had sat down together, but didn’t speak a word to each other the entire class.

“That will be all for now. I’ll see all of you back next week!” Hammerlock said to his students, a few already getting out of their seats. He gave a friendly nod to Rhys and Vaughn. Rhys gave an equally friendly, closed-mouth smile back. The duo continued to say nothing to each other as,they walked out of the classroom to the area they agreed to meet Janey at.

 

* * *

  


“How was the class?” Janey asked good-naturedly.

“It was fine.” Rhys and Vaughn replied monotonously in unison as they got into her buggy.

“Is everything alright?’ Janey inquired, concerned.

“Yes.” Vaughn lied.

“No.” Rhys admitted. Janey raised an eyebrow as she looked in the rear view mirror to see Rhys and Vaughn with their backs to each other, both looking out of their respective windows.

“Alright, what happened?”

“Noth-” Vaughn started before Rhys interrupted him.

“No, it wasn't just _nothing._ We had an- _argument thing_ -over something dumb. ‘S my fault.” Rhys was looking down at his lap, wringing his hands nervously.

“No, it was _my_ fault. I'm the one that didn't even read his damn name on my schedule. And I snapped at you for no reason. I'm sorry, Rhys.” Vaughn shifted in his seat to be facing Rhys. He put out a fist for a fist bump. “Bros?” Rhys turned around and laughed.

“Yeah, Vaughn. Bros.” He fist bumped Vaughn, who also laughed. Unbeknownst to them, Janey had been watching their exchange in the rear view mirror and grinned.

“You two find your class alright?” Janey subtly changed the subject. Neither Rhys nor Vaughn seemed to mind.

“Kind of?” Rhys replied, sounding more like a question than an answer.

“What do you mean?” Janey questioned.

“Some douchebags with signs and masks were talking shit about disabled people.” Vaughn sighed. Janey made a face of disgust.

“Assholes.” She stated plainly.

“Yep.” Rhys agreed. “This professor, Hammerlock, helped us out, though. He got the douches to leave us alone and helped us get to our class.”

“Turns out _he_ was our psych professor.” Vaughn added.

“Hammerlock! He’s a wonderful bloke. Athena introduced me to him.” Janey shared.

The rest of the ride back to the Business School was filled with light conversation. Janey told them more about Athena and was eventually gushing about her, but Rhys and Vaughn let her keep going. The way she talked about her was sweet.

 

* * *

  


“Thanks, Janey! See you!” Rhys called out when they got to their destination.

“Yeah, see you soon!” Vaughn waved.

“Take it easy, you two. Till next week!” Janey waved and drove off.

 

It was a short walk from where Janey dropped them off to their dorm.

“Rhys?”

“Yeah, Vaughn?”

“I don't know what got into me earlier. Again, I'm sorry.”

“No need to apologize, bro. Besides, I'm used to people snapping at me.” Rhys regretted those words immediately. Vaughn stopped walking dead in his tracks. “What?”

Rhys sighed deeply and also stopped.

“Look at me, Vaughn. I'm pathetic, honestly. I've always been an easy target, even before I had prosthetics.”

“Don't say that.” Vaughn said quietly.

“Why not?” Rhys asked bitterly. “It's true. Always have been, always will be.”

“Rhys,  I haven't known you long but I do know that you are an amazing person and that you don't deserve to be walked over all the time.” Vaughn put his hand on Rhys’ shoulder reassuringly.

“Vaughn, I…I don't know what to say.” Both of them pretended like they didn't notice that Rhys was tearing up.

“It’s okay.” Vaughn went up on his toes slightly and hugged Rhys, who hugged him back tightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again, i love getting feedback!! i l try to respond asap

**Author's Note:**

> rhys gets an a for awkwardness  
> updates will be.... incredibly random  
> again please leave feedback! tysm for reading!


End file.
